You can lead a man to water, but you can’t make him think.
We [as a modern day society] have collectively become lazy as a society by succumbing to the “selective perception” that the mainstream media has built their programming on – paid programming that is. By allowing others to lead our analysis of current events – without performing due diligence with what we read – we have allowed ourselves to be divided and conquered as intellectual individuals. We have have systematically given up our freedom to access of truths by allowing media “professionals” to tip the “fair and balanced” in the dir
Any one who has ever taken a Journalism 101 class (including moi) will remember the lesson on selective perception – as well as the journalists’ alleged “responsibility” to be fair and balanced as “gatekeepers”. The 101 also covered topics such as identifying the target audience (i.e. public), and writing at a level they can understand (apparently at a “fifth grade” level). That illustrious “gatekeeper” position is nothing more than a proofreading position as “relevant” information passes from the top floor (publisher), down to editor-in-chief, then the city desk editor, and finally to the lowly journalist who is hungry for action (and food since they make less than most elementary school janitors). So, now that you have a quickie lowdown on the school of thought that journalists are squeezed out of, it is easier to see why the “fair and balanced” cannot be achieved through our current mainstream media paradigm.
You want the TRUTH? You CAN handle the truth.
The truth is out there, but as a society we need to understand that it takes a lot of insight, analysis, and due diligence to find what has been hidden from us. The first step to manuvering through the mainstream media paradigm is to read publications from other countries to find out what is really going on at home (America in my case). For example, there is no hidden agenda or motivation for a paper in Italy to hide key stories about the USA strolling into other countries and funding anti-government factions to “rise up” against their government. In fact with the amount of resentment the American “cowboy” stereotype has built up internationally, we have to read outside the USA to see how most other countries love to cover our woes and follies!
Become a Hound Dog.
The second key to connecting the dots and gaining REAL information is to follow your hunch. When reading a story online (most muckrackers prefer drudgereport.com as a starting point), look for repeating names, and listen to your “gut” about their characteristics. For the past few decades (or centuries ) we have had a repeat cast of politicians and big business players – not a coincidence. As we working peons know, it takes time to work hard and save to move on to the next level. This cast knows that too, but they also know how to schmooze money out of others using grease (sans the elbow). Back room dealings, elaborate dinners, star-studded charity events – all breeding grounds for exchanging big money. Keep your eyes peeled and listen to your inner voice, there are many dots to be connected from the political theatre to the state of society that we were in.
Implement deductive logic in everything you do (and read).
I’d like to pose this question to my readers, “Do you believe everything you read, or that is told to you?” I believe the mainstream media already made up the answer for you, and it is “yes”. Don’t let them do that to you, OK? There’s no such thing as“bi-partisianship” in this country because everyone is now screaming at each other like amped up teens – especially with the topics of “religion” and “politics”. I use the metaphorical quotation marks because in general debates are now based on regurgitated Op-Eds from either the blue or red side of the fence. I side with libertarians and anarchists (always have, always will) because I want to know what, why, where, and how before I even remotely make a statement in conversation. In fact, it sometimes takes me months before I’ll commit to an ideal, or statement, because I will ONLY back a position if I have enough logic to support it.
Here’s the funny little thing about logic, it has to make sense in a Universal realm – not because you want it to, or because it supports some deep seated passion point you have. Deductive logic is parallel to the Scientific Method, which is the foundation for all knowledge we have acclaimed and accomplished up until now. So start backing up your viewpoint with REAL evidence. For example, try quoting industry studies, findings, journals, and historical evidence (i.e. history repeats itself – heard of the Roman Empire?) instead of HuffPo or Fox News. It’ll change your world – I swear – it will also change the decaying world we live in. Now that’s the TRUTH!
eco's crib 